I've decided to put together a little preview of WrestleMania X-8 based on what we know right now.

Currently, the main event is a WWF/WCW World Heavyweight Title match between champion Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle.

Jericho has compiled a 2-1 record in his two WrestleManias. He lost the Intercontinental Title match (also featuring Angle) to Chris Benoit, then won the European Title three-way match at WrestleMania XVI. Then he defeated William Regal to retain the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania XVII.

Kurt Angle is 1-2 at WrestleMania. He lost both the Intercontinental and European Title matches at WrestleMania XVI, but defeated Chris Benoit at WrestleMania XVII.

This is one of the two matches we didn't see at Vengeance. Jericho advanced in that PPV by defeating The Rock, but Angle fell to Austin. Assuming the match stays as it is (which isn't likely), this will be the first real confrontation between these two men since Jericho became a heel.

Judging by the outstanding performance that both of these men have have shown WWF fans for years, this will be an incredible match in its own right if it actually turns out to be the main-event. But my biggest concerns are drawing heat and drawing fans. Fans won't easily be sold on a main event featuring two heels-- neither of which are named Austin, Rock or HHH. I would still buy it, but... look for Triple H to somehow get his shot back. At the very least, a triple threat is an outside possibility.

The other currently announced match is a WWF/WCW World Tag Team Title match between champions Spike Dudley and Tazz and The Acolytes.

For Spike Dudley, this is his first WrestleMania match. He was involved in TLC II last year between The Dudleyz, Hardyz and Edge and Christian, but was not an official participant.

For Tazz, this is his third WrestleMania appearance, and he is 1-1. He won the Hardcore Title twice during WrestleMania XVI's Hardcore Battle Royal, but since Bob Holly ended up winning the match, I count it as a loss for everyone but Holly. At WrestleMania XVII, Tazz teamed with the APA to defeat Val Venis, Bull Buchanan and The Goodfather of Right to Censor.

For Bradshaw, this is his third WrestleMania appearance. He is 1-1. As part of the New Blackjacks with Barry Windham, he lost a four-way tag-team elimination match at WrestleMania XIII to The Headbangers. At WrestleMania XVII, he teamed with Faarooq and Tazz to defeat RTC.

For Faarooq, this is his third WrestleMania appearance, and he is also 1-1. At WrestleMania XIII, the team of Faarooq, Crush and Savio Vega was defeated by Ahmed Johnson and The Legion of Doom. And then again, there's the six-man tag at last year's event.

...Whew.

Anyway. I highly expect this match to be changed as well, seeing as how both are face teams. Most likely, The Outsiders or The Dudley Boyz will dethrone the champions before WrestleMania, rather than have the Acolytes lose their shot.

But let's assume the match remains the same. There's certainly a contrast in style between the huge Acolytes and the under-400-pound team of Spike and Tazz. But there's one thing that neither team lacks, and that's sheer toughness. I'll give the advantage to The Acolytes in this match, however, because they're more fluid and experienced as a team than Spike and Tazz are. Neither APA member is a great wrestler, but what they lack in wrestling ability they make up for as brawlers. And together, with their teamwork, they're hard to beat. That's their forte, much like that of the Dudley Boyz.

Another highly-talked about couple of WrestleMania matches are Austin vs. Scott Hall and Rock vs. Hulk Hogan. Since it's extremely likely that all four men will be part of WrestleMania, I'll go ahead and chart their history, but I'll try not to go into a diatribe about the matches themselves until they're announced.

For Steve Austin, this will be his 6th WrestleMania appearance. He is 4-1. He defeated Savio Vega at WrestleMania XII. He then lost to Bret Hart at WrestleMania XIII in a no-holds-barred submission match that featured a face turn by Austin and a heel turn by Hart. At WrestleMania XIV, he defeated Shawn Michaels to win his first WWF World Title. At WrestleMania XV, he defeated The Rock to become a three-time WWF Champion. And at WrestleMania XVII, he defeated The Rock to become a five-time WWF Champion, becoming the second person ever to win the World Title at three different WrestleManias.

For Scott Hall, this will be his 4th WrestleMania appearance. He is 3-0. At WrestleMania IX, he defeated Bob Backlund. At WrestleMania X, he retained the Intercontinental Title by defeating Shawn Michaels in a legendary ladder match. At WrestleMania XI, he defeated Jeff Jarrett by DQ in an Intercontinental Title match, but Jarrett retained the title.

For The Rock, this will be his 6th WrestleMania appearance. He is 2-3, competing in a title match all five times. At WrestleMania XIII, he successfully retained the Intercontinental Title against The Sultan. At WrestleMania XIV, he initially lost the Intercontinental Title to Ken Shamrock, but Shamrock was disqualified when he refused to release the Ankle Lock. At WrestleMania XV, he lost the WWF World Title to Steve Austin. At WrestleMania XVI, he failed to capture the WWF World Title in a match also featuring champion Triple H, The Big Show and Mick Foley. At WrestleMania XVII, he again lost the WWF Title to Steve Austin. He has a main-event jinx at WrestleMania, but this year it looks like he won't have the opportunity to be in the main event again.

For Hollywood Hogan, this will be his 10th WrestleMania appearance. He is 7-2-1. At WrestleMania, he teamed with Mr. T to defeat Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff in the main-event. At WrestleMania II, he retained the WWF World Title against King Kong Bundy in a steel cage match. At WrestleMania III, he defeated Andre the Giant to retain the WWF World Title. At WrestleMania IV, he and Andre went to a double countout in a World Title tournament match. At WrestleMania V, he defeated Randy Savage to win the WWF World Title. At WrestleMania VI, he lost the WWF World Title to Ultimate Warrior. At WrestleMania VII, he defeated Sgt. Slaughter to win the WWF World Title. At WrestleMania VIII, he defeated Sid Justice by DQ. At WrestleMania IX, he teamed with Brutus Beefcake to lose a WWF Tag Team Title shot against Money Inc. He then defeated Yokozuna in the impromptu main event to become the first person ever to win the WWF World Title in three different WrestleManias. This will be his first WrestleMania in nine years.

The thing that surprised me the most about these facts is that this is only the third Wrestlemania for both Bradshaw and Farooq. They've both been in the WWF for, what, six or seven years? Interesting.

Great post. Thanks for the info.

"How about the power to kill a yak from a hundred yards...with MIND bullets?!! That called tele-kenisis, Kyle."

Some thing I never thought about is that the Undertaker isn't the only guy who is undefeated at Wrestlemania. I wonder if Hall/Ramon will lose thise year. Shane McMahon, now that I think about it, is undefeated as well. He beat X-Pac to retain the Euro Title at WM XV and beat Vince in a streetfight at WM X-7.

"Nobody loves the custodian. I come and I sweep and vacuum for you. When you're in the mood to go to the bathroom, I even disinfect it for you! This is the thanks I get?!? All who defy me shall be dis-infected!"

Tazz over Crash HollyViscera over TazzFunaki over VisceraRodney over FunakiJoey Abs over RodneyThrasher over Joey AbsPete Gas over ThrasherTazz over Pete GasCrash Holly over TazzHardcore Holly over Crash Holly

There was last years gimmick battle royale too, if you count that as a "proper" battle royale though is debatable since it was a comedy thing.

Edit: I cannot spell.

(edited by Qubber on 19.2.02 1050)"Nobody enjoys a good time more than I do, but this business of yours is as legitimate as a three-legged donkey...which of course is illegitimate because as we all know donkeys have four legs."Lance Storm, 21st January 2002.

Rock vs Hogan - Perfect payback for Rock jobbing three years in a row and will be the final match.

Austin vs Hall (?) - I don't understand this booking whatsoever, you take your number one face and put him against your number three or four heel. I mean Nash might get the spot but jesus, it's not much of a spot. I mean, I can understand that Rock is a bigger mainstream star so you put him against Hogan, and I like Jericho jobbing to HHH, but Austin is still the number one guy in this business and the show should revolve around him, shouldn't he be doing something more than this?

Jericho vs Angle vs HHH - I think whoever it was that said this will be all about Stephanie was probably right. HHH goes over of course, surely?

I don't know much about the rest of the card, personally I would have put Taker and Kane against The Outsiders, that's where the money's at. I guess you've got to somewhat establish who your top under guys are at this point, I think they'll put Edge over Regal for sure, but RVD might be a better bet even though that would be an even worse mix for Regal.

I dunno what people expect them to do with Austin. If you like Rock-Hogan, and if you like HHH-Y2J-Angle in some combination for the titles, then where in holy hell do you expect Austin to wrestle? There's not too many ways to avoid him being third on the card. Austin-Hogan isn't gonna happen... Rock-Hogan is set in stone now. And injecting Austin into the titles/Stephanie brouhaha makes no sense. So how the heck could you avoid this situation? And, why are you even trying? If you want more stars made, that means bumping old stars out of slots.

Now, I'm not saying I like the idea of Austin-Hall. And I don't think it's gonna happen, either. I think the logical thing is Austin & someone vs. Hall & Nash. That said, how do you reasonably propose to get Austin any higher up the card than that? (And again... why?)